What Are You Reading?

[Ser Barry]

Well I have waited and waited, looks like I will have to start it.

Just finished The Grapes of Wrath.

Completely blown away by it. So much to consider and mull over. Not the greatest story ever written but the book deals with so many subjects that it is going to take while for it all to sink in. The ending was different and I can imagine that the whole Casy/Jesus thing and this ending kicked up a huge fuss when it was released. I can see why people hate it if they had it forced on them in school. There is no way I could have enjoyed it when I was of a school age and I am glad I did not read it until I had a better appreciation of literature.

A very, very powerful book.

[Maia]

Just finished "Tea With Black Dragon" by R.A. McAvoy and it wasn't as good as I thought it would be (it is often recommended as one of the "cult" hits on the net), although the premise is somewhat interesting. It is a neat little urban fantasy, but I expected more. Currently re-reading AFFC.

[nobodymN]

New thread same answer :

I'm putting a few books to rest now, Paul Auster's Brooklyn Follies, Tobias Buckell's Crystal Rain, and a reread of Scott Lynch's The Lies of Locke Lamora before a review.

I recenty started Hamilton's Judas Unchained, and Diana Wynne Jones' Tough Guide to Fantasyland , and non-fiction, hugo nominated effort from the past.

Looking to starting Jeff Vandermeer's Shriek: an afterword

[Arvernian]

Just finished my goal since HS of reading all of Howard's Conan stories (in the new Del Rey illustrated editions).

Currently reading Chronicles of Narnia is the author's preferred order ( Magician's Nephew first, and A Horse and His Boy third). Right now I'm a little more then half way through The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

After I finish that I have The Broken Sword by Poul Anderson, The Dying Earth Series by Jack Vance, and either Lord of the Rings or Prydain depending on whether I am ahead or behind my two book per week goal for the year.

[Xray the Enforcer]

Tigana by GG Kay (I love saying "GG Kay" -- makes me think of that other, crazier GG.)

The Darkness That Comes Before by R. Scott Bakker

Just finished City of Pearl by Karen Traviss. It was pretty OK, especially for a first novel -- but a much better idea than execution: Vegan alien eco-terrorists kick human and other alien ass to preserve a planetary habitat. Oh yeah, and the biggest bad-ass ecoterrorist is almost immortal. I just liked the idea of eco-terrorist aliens, I admit. But the author seems a little hung up on the veganism, and keeps hammering into the readers eyeballs that vegan = no cheese, no honey, etc. Darling author, I know what a fucking vegan is, I have cooked for many.

[Pellegrina]

I'm almost too embarrassed to mention it in this enlightened company, but I've been trying to read A Forest of Stars, Book 2 of The Saga of the Seven Suns by Kevin J. Anderson.

(Holds up an umbrella and waits for the rotten tomatoes to subside)

In my defence, I read Book 1 last summer while researching my Master's thesis on libraries in science fiction. I had picked it up as something lightweight and forgettable to read, in ignorance of Anderson's other crimes against science fiction. After a few chapters I realized it wasn't very good, but also that the "world forest" was a form of science-fictional organic library, so I kept reading to find out more.

As I hate leaving stories unfinished, I thought I'd give Book 2 a go. It is dreadful, far worse than I remembered. The writing is dreadful, so bad it's actually quite encouraging to me as someone who lacks the confidence to put pen to paper: here is stuff so bad I would delete it as soon as I'd typed it, but he persisted for hundreds of pages and it got published! Truly there is hope for everyone.

That said, 70 pages in, I don't think I can take any more.

It is quite possible that the second book I've picked up this year may be my worst read of 2006!

[Ashara]

Just finished Christopher Hibbert's The House of Medici: Its Rise and Fall. A great book, reads better than most of the fantasy novels, because it is truth, the plot is complicated, the characters vivid and all of them flawed I will be starting Maltby's "Alba" next, plus I still have to read and comment at least two short stories before Wednesday in the Critter's workshop.

Thinking of looking into either Bakker or Erickson, but not sure if I will like either.

So much to read, so little time.

[lumer]

I recently finished Tim Powers' Declare and Drawing of the Dark, and reread Last Call. I like Tim Powers SO much... I'll make a thread about his works soon, I promise!

I just bought (saw a new translation) GRRM's Tuf Voyaging in hebrew. read the first 30 pages or so. looks nice, and GRRM is a trademark for good writing, so I'm hopeful.

Also, I recieved Sean Stewarts' "Resuurection man" from cteresa (thanks!). Will get on it soon (after I finish Tuf. shouldn't take long, it's not a long book and in hebrew)

[Larry.]

Just finished reading Consuelo de Saint-Exupéry's memoir, The Tale of the Rose: The Passion That Inspired The Little Prince - very touching read. Probably going to give this book (I bought it for 84¢ on Amazon) to a dear friend of mine (as I sometimes do with meaningful books) in the next month or so.

Currently am alternating between Alberto Fuguet's just-released short story collection, Cortos, Brandon Sanderson's Elantris, Iain Pears's The Dream of Scipio, and debating whether or not to start reading Ben Okri's The Famished Road. Then again, a re-read of El principito might be in order after reading the above-mentioned memoir...

[cteresa]

You welcome, hope you like it as much as I did It pushes some of the same buttons with me that T Powers does, while not being quite the same thing.

Reading the Egyptologist, so far just read a few pages but liking it a lot. Seems promissing. Resolution for 2006, finish the Darkness that Cames Before. Arend gave me his copy, it´s been on being-read status ( round page 30) since then and it must have been 18 months now. Will get to it, eventually

[Naturalis]

Reading Martha Wells' Death of the Necromancer and listening to Fevre Dream, so far I am really liking both of them.

[UberDarkLord]

A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter Miller. It's a SF classic that I never read, so it was time. On p.50 or so and liking it so far.

[Yana]

I actually just started I, Claudius. I have not read it before

[Isis]

I finished Perdido Street Station a couple of days back. On the whole, I liked it. I wasn't OMFG11111!!! about it but it did have its moments. The lack of 'and everyone lived happily ever after', the moths, the utterly natural use of the word ARSE and the inter-species sex were all plus points. I would probably read other stuff by Mieville one day, but I won't be rushing out for it immediately. All references to academia were spot on, as you'd expect from an author that has studied for three degrees. The tone of language overall was really easy to get in tune with, I think this is the London vibe coming through.

To come to the negative stuff: it is unnecesssary to use fifty pages to describe the connecting of cables. That part was annoying and silly.

[Maid Sansa]

"Master and Margaret" by Bulgakov. Finally, some serious literature, and it's even not in English! It feels strange to read in my mother tongue after so long. It's absolutely surreal, mad in its own way and with a method quite unmistakable.

[Kingslayer]

I just finished An Instance of the Fingerpost, and I loved it. The structure is brilliant, steadily building up to a secret that would have brought down the king himself. Highly recommended.

I also recently read Song of Kali by Dan Simmons. I have to say that I found it somewhat overrated (and the hyperbole on the back certainly didn't help in that regard). However, the atmosphere is incredible and there was one moment that truly horrified me. It's a good one.

Yet another recent read was The Rules of Attraction by Bret Easton Ellis. I found it to be disappointing, in light of the stunning American Psycho. I was actually bored by much of the story. It's not bad, but I won't come back to it.

[ser marauder]

Just finished rereading Briar King by Keyes and am now reading book 2, The Charnel Prince now. Prepping for the 3rd book in the series. After I finish Charnel Prince I'll either read Tim Powers' Anubis Gates or Lehane's Gone, Baby, Gone. I really like Lehane's detective series so I'm leaning towards Gone, Baby, Gone.

[needle]

Currently am alternating between Alberto Fuguet's just-released short story collection, Cortos, Brandon Sanderson's Elantris, Iain Pears's The Dream of Scipio, and debating whether or not to start reading Ben Okri's The Famished Road. Then again, a re-read of El principito might be in order after reading the above-mentioned memoir...

DF : be interested to see what you thought The Dream of Scipio. I keep reccing it atm for one reason or another. And you can never read le petit Prince too many times, or in too many languages.

Me, am struggling with Virconium, by M. John Harrison. I can see why Wolfe fans like it; but it just isn't doing it for me. Maybe it'll grow on me. I got annoyed at the constant 'sombre' and brooding' descriptions of the main character, (in The Pastel City) to the point where I felt like handing the author a thesaurus. Odd, because he obviously has a very wide command of language.

I stopped in the middle to read Two Lives, by Vikram Seth. It was marketed as a novel as much as a biography, but turned out to be a fairly straightforward biography. An interesting book, following his great uncle, a Hindu training for dentistry in Nazi Germany who eventually married a German Jew. Biography isn't really my bag, but for those who like the genre, and for any fans of A suitable Boy (we find out much of it is based on Seth's immediate family) it's worth a read.

Also, a quick dose of light stuff with Iain Rankin's Fleshmarket Close. I find it hard to judge how good his books actually are, because I enjoy following him round my native city Edinburgh so much. I do think for an entirely believable characters, in a wonderfully rendered setting, he's unbeatable in the crime genre. (not one in which I am expert however; my knowledge mostly coming from extensive Ed McBain and the odd Patricia Cornwell when deperate for something to read at someone else's house)

[williamjm]

At the moment I'm reading "Excession" by Iain M Banks. I've had mixed reactions to the previous "Culture" books I've read, but I'm enjoying this so far. I'm currently amused by the scene I just read where the various Ships are discussing their response to the excession and their discussion quickly degenerates into an argument about how some of the participants got into the discussion when they're not on the authorised list (and in some cases have been meant to have died 500 years previously).

[cen0taph]

Finished my re-read of The Ill Made Mute a few days ago only to find out that I don't have the 2nd book as I thought I did and not one bookstore in the city has it in stock so I had to order it.

In the meantime, I started Tales Before Tolkien which is an excellent (so far) collection of stories that inspired (or in a few cases did not directly inspire) Tolkien. It's funny to read some of the stories and see the direct influence on Tolkien's work.